Posttermination of parental rights contact between a child and a birth relative of the child and disclosure of the report of an investigation of the home of a proposed adoptive parent on the request of the proposed adoptive parent

and 3) the child, if 12 years of age or over, consents to the terms of the agreement.

A posttermination contact agreement may provide for any of the following:

1. Visitation between the child and a birth relative of the child.

2. Future contact and communication between the child, adoptive parent, or agency and a birth relative of the child.

3. The sharing of information about the child in the future between the adoptive parent or agency and a birth relative of the child.

4. The maintenance and sharing of the medical and genetic history of any birth relative who is a party to the agreement.

A posttermination contact agreement must contain: 1) an acknowledgement by all birth relatives who are parties to the agreement that the TPR and adoption are irrevocable and that failure by a party to comply with the agreement is not grounds to revoke the TPR or adoption; 2) an acknowledgement by the proposed adoptive parents or agency that the agreement is enforceable by any person who is permitted posttermination visitation, contact, communication, or sharing of information under the agreement; and 3) a statement by all parties to the agreement that the agreement was entered into voluntarily and with understanding of the terms of the agreement, that no promises or threats were made to coerce any person into entering into the agreement, and that the parties have not relied on any representations other than those contained in the agreement.

At the time a TPR order is granted, a juvenile court may approve a posttermination contact agreement if: 1) the child and the birth parent meet the conditions for entering into the agreement; 2) the agreement contains the provisions required under the bill; 3) the parties to the agreement including the birth parent and child, if 12 years of age or over, sign the agreement; 4) the agency or the child's guardian ad litem files the agreement; 5) the juvenile court addresses all parties to the agreement and determines that the agreement was entered into voluntarily and with understanding of the terms of the agreement, that no promises or threats were made to coerce any person into entering into the agreement, and that the parties have not relied on any representations other than those contained in the agreement;

6) the agency and the child's guardian ad litem submit to the juvenile court recommendations concerning the granting of posttermination visitation, contact, communication, or sharing of information as provided for in the agreement; and 7) the juvenile court determines that granting posttermination visitation, contact, communication, or sharing of information as provided for in the agreement would be in the best interests of the child.

In determining whether granting posttermination visitation, contact, communication, or sharing of information as provided for in the agreement would be in the best interests of the child, the juvenile court must consider: 1) whether the child has substantial relationships with the person who would have visitation, contact, communication, or sharing of information under the agreement, and whether it would be harmful to the child not to preserve those relationships; 2) any special needs of the child and how those special needs would be affected by visitation, contact, communication, or sharing of information as provided for in the agreement;

3) the specific terms of the agreement and the likelihood that the parties will cooperate in complying with the agreement; 4) the recommendations of the agency and the child's guardian ad litem; and 5) any other factors that are relevant to the best interests of the child.

Current law requires the juvenile court to consider certain factors in determining whether TPR would be in the best interests of the child. One of those factors is whether the child has substantial relationships with the parent or other family members, and whether it would be harmful to the child to sever those relationships. Recently, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held, in State v. Margaret H.

, 200 WI 42, 234 Wis. 2d 606, 621, that the severance of substantial relationships factor requires the juvenile court to examine the impact of a legal severance of those relationships on the broader relationships existing between the child and his or her family and that the juvenile court, in its discretion, may afford due weight to an adoptive parent's stated intent to permit continued visitation between the child and his or her pretermination family, even though such a promise is legally unenforceable after TPR and adoption. This bill requires the juvenile court, in evaluating that factor, to consider the terms of any posttermination contact agreement under the bill that has been entered into with respect to the child and permits the juvenile court to consider any other agreement by a proposed adoptive parent to permit contact between the child and his or her pretermination family after adoption of the child.

A posttermination contact agreement that has been approved by the juvenile court is enforceable by the juvenile court. Before petitioning the juvenile court for specific performance of the agreement, however, the petitioner must participate, or attempt to participate, in good faith in mediation or other appropriate dispute resolution proceedings to resolve the dispute giving rise to the filing of the petition.

If the juvenile court finds that a person is not in compliance with the agreement, that enforcement of the agreement is in the best interests of the child, and that the petitioner, before filing the petition, participated, or attempted to participate, in good faith in mediation or other appropriate dispute resolution proceedings to resolve the dispute giving rise to the filing of the petition, the juvenile court must issue an order requiring specific performance of the agreement, which order is the sole remedy for noncompliance with the agreement.

A posttermination contact agreement that has been approved by the juvenile court may be terminated or modified by agreement of the parties if the juvenile court finds that the termination or modification would be in the best interests of the child or by the juvenile court if a party shows that the termination or modification would be in the best interests of the child, or that there has been a substantial change in circumstances since the entry of the last order affecting the agreement, and that the petitioner, before filing the petition, participated, or attempted to participate, in good faith in mediation or other appropriate dispute resolution proceedings to resolve the dispute giving rise to the filing of the petition. An order to modify an approved posttermination contact agreement may limit, restrict, condition, or decrease visitation, contact, communication, or sharing of information between the child and a birth relative of the child, but may not expand, enlarge, or increase that visitation, contact, communication, or sharing of information or place any new obligations on the adoptive parent or agency.

Finally, under current law, all records and papers pertaining to an adoption proceeding may not be disclosed except under certain statutory exceptions or by order of the juvenile court for good cause shown. This bill permits a proposed adoptive parent whose home is the subject of an investigation to determine whether the home is suitable for the child (home study) to request the agency conducting the home study to disclose its report of the home study to another agency authorized to place children for adoption, the state adoption information exchange, or the state adoption center. Within ten days after receipt of such a request, the agency must disclose the report to the person named in the request.